W.Va. man charged with assault, obstructing police

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A Martinsburg man who police allege threatened a pregnant woman and another man was arraigned on several charges Wednesday.

Terry Lee Edwards Jr., 23, of East Race Street, was charged with wanton endangerment with a firearm, obstructing police and two counts of domestic assault.

This was not Edwards' first run-in with police. In September 2000, Edwards was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Steven Ray Post II, 20. Edwards pleaded guilty in March 2002 to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to serve a year in jail.

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The current charges stem from an alleged incident at Edwards' home on Tuesday, police said. According to police reports, he is alleged to have screamed at and threatened to kill a pregnant woman and a man who lived with him.

The two left the house safely. When Martinsburg Police Department officers arrived, Edwards answered the door but would not let them inside, police said.

After forcing open the door, police entered the house and found a shotgun on a couch beside the front door, records allege. A round was in the chamber and the gun's hammer was pulled back, police said.

On a table in the living room, police found an empty vodka bottle, a dagger and a meat cleaver, court records allege.

As officers took Edwards to their office for processing, he told Patrolman A.M. Lewis that he watched police approach "and that he should have taken a shot at us, law enforcement officers, when he and the chance," records allege.

Patrolman A.J. Mancine and Sgt. B.L. Yost also responded.

Police and the victims indicated that Edwards seemed to be drunk, according to court documents.

Edwards was drinking on the night of the Sept. 13 shooting three years ago. He and Post were drinking before an argument broke out that led to the shooting inside Post's home.

Prosecutors agreed to drop the murder charge in favor of the misdemeanor because a psychiatrist determined Edwards was so intoxicated that he didn't know what he was doing when he waived his Miranda rights to police.

As a result, a statement Edwards gave to police would have been inadmissible in court.

After his arraignment Wednesday, Edwards was taken to Eastern Regional Jail where he posted bail.